Toyota?s hot hatch game has come in dribs and drabs since the exciting Conquest RSi of the ?80s and its latest entrant is the cheeky little Yaris. It takes the three-door body shell that always looked too sporty for that anemic 3-pot in the T1 and gives it a far more serious 1.8-litre Dual-VVTi engine and a slightly kitsch body kit to signal its intent.

With a price tag just shy of R200K and output very near 100kW, it looks poised to take over where the previous Ford Fiesta ST has just left. Our Yaris tester was not as run-in as it could have been, but we don?t feel that?s wholly to blame for it missing the Fiesta ST?s 0-100 sprint time by more than two seconds.

They?ve mated the engine to a six-speed manual gearbox, which is slick and precise and even allows for frugal cruising on the highway. One of this Yaris? strong points is its efficiency ? Toyota claiming 7.0 litres per 100km on the combined cycle.

The interior has been upgraded quite nicely, with comfy and grippy sports seats, Optitron instrumentation and red indicator needles, but there?s still too much cheap plastic strewn over the dash.

The TS handles well and the steering is a bit more positive thanks to a higher steering ratio, but for true on-track enjoyment, the engine could use more power. Yet at the price, the TS is a decent stepping stone to more serious hot hatches.

Toyota Yaris TS
Price R198 000
kW/Nm: 98/173
0-100km/h (g): 10.9 secs
Top speed (c): 198km/h
Hot Lap (g): 2m21.5